How to know if you are ready for a puppy?

[Anonymous]

If I were you I would pay all the money in the world the breeder to keep the dog for another month and get 12 weeks old pup.
You save on trouble and being super tired, dog will be house broken and able to hold more. You will avoid any huge conflicts in the family who will be tired, busy and exhausted from the chores and puppy whining and all the stuff.

[Anonymous]

My youngest is also 9 and I also SAHM. We have a 7mo puppy.

We wanted to wait until the kids were mature enough to behave well around a pup, and a bit more self sufficient themselves. I knew they wouldn’t end up helping a ton with actual dog care, but they are doing more chores and things for themselves which frees up time.

Your lifestyle may be different- but we figured we are entering the stage where we can’t just pick up and take off for the weekend anymore without planning far in advance, - because of the kids’ school and activity schedules. I feel like we will be more tied down with school etc from now until college. Not like when the kids were small! So for US it seemed the right time.

We also have a fenced backyard etc which helps a lot,

I do wish I had considered dog-proofing ahead of time as it has been much like child proofing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been talking about getting a small dog. Our kids are 12-8. Youngest is almost 9. We live in a sfh with a small yard (hence the desire for a small dog). DH works from home and I SAHM. My husband acts like he doesn't think we can handle a puppy and I'm like, we had 3 babies and are raising 3 kids??

Are puppies that much harder than babies? How did you know when you were ready to fit a dog into your lifestyle?

YES! So. MUCH. WORK! I have a 12 week old puppy and I had no idea. Don't get a little puppy. You have to wake it up every two hours to pee! If you get a dog get an older dog. It is so much harder than babies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You sound as ready as anyone ever is. The thing is, your kids probably promise you now that they'll take care of the dog, and they probably will for a while, but then their enthusiasm will wane. If the dog isn't sleeping at night for a while, that will probably be on you. For a while, it's like having a newborn.

We got a rescue who had a good schedule and did well at night from the very beginning. He was 6 months old, so still had a lot of puppy energy and cuteness, but he was mostly housebroken and that was great.

OP here.

How long does this part last, typically? The day to day care doesn't worry me but the overnights do. I remember when my babies were getting up every two hours or less to eat and that was hell. IS that what it's like with a puppy? Aren't you supposed to let them sleep in a crate at night? [/quote]

Yes they sleep in a crate but, they can't hold their pee for too long.

[Anonymous]

Does this mean I literally wake the dog up to pee every 2.5 hours? What if she’s sleeping?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does this mean I literally wake the dog up to pee every 2.5 hours? What if she’s sleeping?

This really depends on the dog. I take my 11 week old medium/large breed puppy out every 2.5 hrs during the day, generally, but I never wake him from naps or at night to pee. He goes out as soon as he wakes up and has never had an accident in the crate.

[Anonymous]

We took our large breed puppy out at 1am and 4am for months starting at 8 weeks. This was pre-kids and the sleep deprivation was so hard! Tbh he probably could've made it longer after the first month or so, but I was paranoid about him peeing in his crate, so I'd take him out no matter what (even though he very quickly was potty-trained during the day).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We took our large breed puppy out at 1am and 4am for months starting at 8 weeks. This was pre-kids and the sleep deprivation was so hard! Tbh he probably could've made it longer after the first month or so, but I was paranoid about him peeing in his crate, so I'd take him out no matter what (even though he very quickly was potty-trained during the day).

Don’t do this. A sleeping dog won’t pee in its crate. If they start stirring or making you might take them out, but do not wake them up.

[Anonymous]

We’ve had our puppy for two months now - got him when he was 10 weeks old. Our kids are 13 and 11 and we both work full time. I’ll be honest, he’s adorable and there are for sure moments where it’s wonderful and I’m like “oh this is why people have a dog” but I wouldn’t do it again if I had the choice over with no consequences.

It’s is very much like a baby in that your life absolutely revolves around the puppy’s schedule. For the first two weeks, we were up twice a night to take him out to go potty and it was exactly like having a newborn. After like five days we were absolutely a mess - sleep deprived and miserable and then working/schooling the kids all the next day.

He did start to sleep through the night within a few weeks and we feel very lucky for that. And housebreaking is going pretty well, but someone has to have eyes on him literally AT ALL TIMES unless he is sleeping or crated. And this will likely continue for at least a few more months, probably a year or more.

That’s the hard part. It’s like a newborn in that it’s constant and exhausting and you live your life in like two hour increments, trying to cram in everything you need to do before the puppy wakes up from the nap. And also the newborn pees everywhere and bites and chews and is mobile. So in that way, much harder.

It also is like a newborn in that it is EVERY SINGLE DAY even if you’re tired or sick or it’s raining or you just feel like sitting. Literally ever day here is our day:

6am - puppy wakes and whines until someone gets him
6-9am - eyes on puppy 100% of the time; take him for a walk, lots of fetch, training, breakfast, etc. oh you want to sit down and have a lazy morning? NOPE!
9-11am - puppy naps in his crate
11-2 - eyes on puppy 100% of the time: walk, lunch, fetch, training
2-3 - puppy naps in his crate
3-7pm - eyes on puppy 100% of the time (you get it at this point...)
7-8ish - puppy bedtime
8pm and after - cram in everything you couldn’t get done during the day bc you were watching the puppy

Now do that literally every single day. We’re at a point where we’re going to get a dog walker even though we’re home. Obviously this schedule is not working with two full time working parents. Kids help daily, but not when it’s hard or they don’t feel like it.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, so all that said - are you ready to do that schedule every day for at the very minimum several months? Oh and since you’re a SAHM and your husband is in the fence, it sounds like this will be 100% you (and maybe you’ll get it thrown in your face that he didn’t want the puppy too, at the least in passive aggressive ways if not directly).

[Anonymous]

OP, the fact that 19:11 is getting a 10-hour stretch at night with a four/five-month-old puppy is firmly in the "Results not typical" category

[Anonymous]

Having a puppy is very demanding and stressful, especially to the mom. Even though I find myself bonded to the puppy more and more, I wouldn’t do it again.

[Anonymous]

I've had several puppies over my adulthood. Right now, I have a 4.5 month old Mastiff and a 6-year-old Bulldog. I love puppies! YES, they are a ton of work. I have never raised a child, but my belief i: In some ways puppies are harder, and in some ways, they're easier.

Babies don't require night time potty breaks in all types of weather. (This is probably the suckiest part of puppyhood.) +1
Puppies can be left alone. +1
Puppies mature faster. +1
Puppies adore you! +1

So, I say get the puppy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the fact that 19:11 is getting a 10-hour stretch at night with a four/five-month-old puppy is firmly in the "Results not typical" category

11:41 again...

My Mastiff is good from 8PM until 7AM, and she's 4.5 months old. Maybe it's because she's a giant breed with a giant bladder, but I'm very, very happy.

[Anonymous]

We found someone on Nextdoor locally who was going on travel, and we watched her dog for several days as a "trial." Really proved we could handle it. Now puppy is about 4 months old, got him at 9 weeks. I work with him daily for several 10-min periods of training. And while there were a few accidents housebreaking, they were our own fault. We were just consistent and took him out hourly, after drinks, after play...etc etc. In the snow...yikes. At 2am...yikes. But we did it. He is very calm, easygoing, as a puppy. Golden Retriever.
So, look into watching a neighbor's dog for an afternoon, or a few days to get your feet wet before jumping in!